Now Iran has joined the cities and countries mentioned above after the Department of Environment made the decision that as of March 20, they would no longer issue permits allowing the use of wildlife in circuses, and that the ban is applicable in all of Iran’s 31 states.

The decision comes after the “No to Circus!” campaign that was launched by Animal Rights Watch (ARW) in September 2014, which was supported by Animal Defenders International (ADI) and has already led to 13 circuses ending the use of using wildlife in only four months! ADI’s website issued a congratulatory statement:

“ADI is proud to be supporting ARW and has been working with them for the past two years. We congratulate them on this remarkable achievement and thank the Iranian government for their progressive stance, as well as the 6,000 ADI supporters who called for action.”

ARW is now focusing on having the bylaws written and the criteria approved by Parliament in order to ensure that this prohibition remains in the case of changes to the current government. The good news is that the “No to Circus!” campaign, according to the ADI website, “has the support of environment NGO networks in all 31 states”.

Shahraam Amirisharifi, International Relations Director of ARW-Iran, thanked ADI for their collaboration on this very important cause:

“On behalf of Animal Rights Watch-IRAN, I want to express my gratitude to the Animal Defenders International for all your supports and ideas shared with us.”

To see the current ADI campaigns focused on ending the use of wildlife in different countries and to get involved, visit their website.